Vulnerable Adults Summit Overview

The Attorney General invited more than 100 professionals from around the state to participate in a Vulnerable Adult Summit on June 1, 2007, at the Tumwater Office of the Attorney General.

Including Attorney General’s Office (AGO) staff and facilitators, 99 people attended. The participants included law enforcement officials, health care providers, prosecutors, legislators, social workers, bankers and advocates, to name a few. The participants were selected from throughout the state to represent communities large and small, rural, urban, eastern and western.

While the problem is complex, the goal was simple: to better protect our fastest-growing age demographic — the elderly and disabled adults — from abuse, neglect, criminal mistreatment, and financial exploitation.

Summit participants were tasked by the Attorney General's Office and the summit co-chairs to identify the critical issues impacting vulnerable adults. By the end of the session, summit participants had established a list of nearly 90 areas of concern — issues that could be addressed by lawmakers, caregivers, advocates and the community at large.

Many of these items are also listed on the work group summaries section, as they pertain to the final recommendations of those work groups.

At the summit’s conclusion, participants were asked to identify themselves and others as possible contributors to solution-oriented work groups. Work groups were subsequently assembled and presented their reports to the Attorney General's Office on May 9, 2008.

What follows is a detailed look at many of the urgent issues identified at the summit, and summaries of the resulting work group reports. Complete reports are available at https://www.atg.wa.gov.